


Her Favorite Holiday

by selene42



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: HPFT, Complete, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 08:51:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6463699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/selene42/pseuds/selene42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly Weasley was always a romantic at heart, and Valentine's Day was full of laughter and love.  Arthur was a romantic only for one, and he would fill her special day with roses and love.  No matter what.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Favorite Holiday

Valentine’s was always her favorite holiday. Even when they were much younger, and were the fresh-faced students of Hogwarts rather than their multitude of grandchildren, her face would always be glowing with pure happiness. How her smile would light up a room as she exchanged a few sweets with her friends, and oh how pure her laughter sounded as it rang through the corridors. Valentine’s Day would always hold a fond spot in his old heart as well, for it was the day Molly Prewett first kissed him all those years ago. It was also the day she said “Yes.” Arthur knew he would never forget that day, how heavy his Grandmother’s ring felt in his pocket, as he escorted Molly through Hogsmeade. He had tried to make it sweet for her, as romantic as he could possibly hope to be. Nothing went according to his careful plans that day. The flowers he had been hiding behind his back when he greeted her in the village had been eaten by the horse waiting to pull a sleigh. He could only present to her tissue wrapped stems. After that, he tried to take her into The Three Broomsticks for a drink or two--he was so nervous by then--but the pub was full of students until it was standing room only. Molly had still suggested a warm Butterbeer for them both, but with the jostling crowd, they ended up soaked. Yet despite flower stems and a dripping jumper, Molly’s smile never faltered and she let him take her arm.

“Mr. Weasley!”

Arthur started, jumping in his chair. He spun round towards the door, as he straightened his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Young Alexander Sterling stood panting in his office door. He had only been with the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department for just under two years, but was an enthusiastic employee. They had spent many lunches together discussing Muggle cars and plugs. Alexander had even taken him into a Muggle shop once to show him a small little vacuum that moved by itself! Perhaps Muggles knew more about magic than they gave them credit for.

“Mr. Weasley,” Alexander said again, stepping into Arthur’s office. “Reports are pouring in. Someone broke into a Muggle newspaper and replaced all the photos with moving reprints. The place is in an uproar,” Alexander explained.

Arthur was already rising, though his knees did crack and pop as he did so. He wasn’t often required out on the field these days, but when something like this happened they needed all the staff they had. Even the almost retired Department Head.

“Lead the way, Alexander,” Arthur instructed, grabbing his hat and coat from the tree by the door. “Have Daniel notify the Obliviators before he heads out; we’re going to need them.”

It was his fifty-third Valentine’s Day with Molly, and he was stuck here at work.

*~*~*

Arthur sighed as he stood on the steps of the small London office. The raid had gone smoothly. Alexander was finishing gathering up the magical photos and the Obliviators were finishing clearing the memories of the incident from the staff’s mind. Thankfully this was a small paper; it would have been a colossal disaster had been The Times. Rubbing his gloved hands together to try and warm them, Arthur watched as man after man left the florist just across the street a ways. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the frantic look some wore. There had a been a few Valentine’s Days he nearly forgot.

“Daniel is finishing with the video, sir,” Alexander said as he exited the door behind Arthur. Both men pulled their coats tighter to fight off the February cold. The ache in Arthur’s joints promised fresh snow that night. “He hasn’t been able to get a clear look at their faces, but we’re looking for three men.”

Arthur nodded with this information. It wasn’t much, but at least they had something to work with. The lads would track them down soon enough. He taught them well.

“Good, good,” Arthur murmured. “Wait for Daniel to finish and head back to the Ministry together,” Arthur instructed. “I’ve already sent Emma and Thomas back with the printed papers. Be sure to pick up a bite before starting on your reports though,” Arthur told him with a small smile. It was mid-afternoon now, as they had all worked through their breaks.

“What about you, Mr. Weasley?” Alexander asked him. “Want me to grab you something?”

“No, no, nothing for me,” Arthur laughed. “I won’t be back in the office today, I’ve got a date with my wife after all. No, its Diagon Alley for me then onwards to my Molly.”

Alexander nodded with a small smile. “Of course. Please, tell her hello for me and a Happy Valentine’s to her.”

“I’ll do that. And one to your wife as well,” Arthur told him as he slowly descended the few steps.

It was only a short walk of a few blocks to where The Leaky Cauldron was nestled. Nothing he couldn’t handle despite the cold snap the city was in. Inside the wizarding pub, signs of romantic revelry had already begun. Cupids flew around the rafters, while pink and red hearts floated about the room. Arthur couldn’t help but smile, remembering the year Molly and Ginny, only a child of four, had filled the whole house with hearts of their own.

Diagon Alley too was filled with Valentine’s delights. Sweets and pastries to delight every taste, shining jewels and rich luxurious robes. Down the street, he could see the fresh display advertising Love Potions at George’s shop. He hoped for George’s sake that he remembered to close up early this year.

The street was filled with last minute shopping, and couples as they began their romantic evenings. He nodded to a few of the couples he knew from over the years. A former coworker, Luna and her husband waved as they past, an old classmate spending the day with a granddaughter…

“Grandpère! Grandpère!”

Arthur stopped and looked about, his smile splitting as wide as his arms when he spotted her. His little Victoire, the first of his grandchildren. Though perhaps she wasn’t so little anymore, being nearly as tall as he and as beautiful as her mother and grandmothers.

“Hello my girl,” he greeted her, wrapping her tightly in his arms; she pecked his cheek in response. “Hello Teddy,” he said, nodding to the blue haired boy, no man, as he came up behind Victoire. “Isn’t it too early for you to have her out celebrating?” He asked Teddy in a teasing way.

“Oh Grandpère,” Victoire laughed, stepping back towards Teddy. She kept her right hand wrapped in Arthur’s gloved one. “I work at St. Mungo’s tonight, so we went out this afternoon,” she explained, her smile beaming like the sun. “Isn’t today so romantic, Grandpère? Oh,” Victoire sighed dreamily, while Teddy could only shake his head with a silent laugh.

“You and your grandmother love this day more than anyone I’ve ever known.”

Victoire and Teddy exchanged a small glance, and Arthur watched as she reached for him with her left hand. “I grew up with Grandmère’s stories, especially the one’s about the two of you,” Victoire told him. “Her favorite was the one when you proposed.”

Arthur caught the glimmer of gold where it rested on her slim fingers. 

“That story is her favorite too,” Teddy commented, as Arthur reached to shake his hand. 

“This will make your grandmother very proud,” Arthur told her with a congratulatory kiss.

“Will you please tell her?” Victoria asked quietly as she embraced him once more. “With my schedule, I don’t know when I will see her.”

“I will,” Arthur assured her. “Congratulations my dear girl.”

Arthur watched as they walked down the street, before he turned and returned to his mission. Molly would be thrilled to hear the new, her first grandchild engaged. On the same day as she was too!

He was sure that Teddy’s proposal went better than his. Despite the years, Arthur could still remember the feeling of his Butterbeer-soaked clothes clinging to him as he and Molly walked through snow covered village. They were on the lane back to the castle, and he felt defeated. This was her day, it should’ve been special.

“Molly,” Arthur said, stopping in the path and turning towards her. He held both her hands in his, he was sure they were shaking. It was now or never. “Molly, I love you,” Arthur said quickly as he started to bend to one knee. “Will you-”

He couldn’t finish his question. Unknown to either Molly or him, the powdery snow had covered the ice. As Arthur had moved to knelt he found it, resulting in his horrific tackling of the woman he loved. Arthur couldn’t help but groan.

“Arthur?” Molly cried out from beneath him; he felt her hands on his face. “Are you alright? Say something! Arthur?”

“Marry me, Molly?” It came out in a rush.

Arthur watched as Molly’s jaw dropped. Which each quiet second, his heart dropped with it. It nearly broke the second she started crying beneath him, covered in Butterbeer and snow. He pushed himself to his knees as she hid behind her hands, still crying.

“Molly -”

“Yes!” Molly cried out, throwing her arms around him, now laughing through her tears. “Yes, Arthur, yes!”

Arthur sat still for a moment, before her words finally were understood. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, vowing to never let go, as he joined in on her laughter. It would be three hours before he remember to give her his grandmother’s ring.

With a chuckle, Arthur shook his head as he entered the busy florist’s store. As he received the order he made for his wife, Arthur was sure that Teddy’s proposal had gone just right.

*~*~*

The silence in the yard broke with a sudden crack as Arthur apparated onto the snowy path. Molly always hated it when someone apparated into the room with her, so he always made sure to apparate outside and walk home to her. He walked up the path through the gentle snow, crunching the powder beneath his shoes, where he knew his wife was waiting for him.

“Evening Mollywobbles,” Arthur greeted as he brushed snow from his coat. “I’m late, I know,” he said with a small chuckle. “There was a raid today, and all hands on deck. Even for an old desk man like me. The lads in the office wish you a merry day as well.”

Arthur paused for a moment, letting the silence surround him. He removed his hat, tucking it beneath his arm, the roses in his grasp shaking with each movement. The snow hadn’t touched them, thanks to the florist’s bright thinking.

With a shaking hand, Arthur smoothed back his now white hair and cleared his throat. Even after three years of dating, and fifty bright years of marriage, his Molly could still make his heart sing and his knees shake. “I ran into Victoire and Teddy after the raid,” Arthur told her. “They were just leaving that little cafe with the pastries you spoil her with. You’ll never believe it my dear, but that Teddy finally did it. He finally proposed and she said yes; our little Victoire is engaged.”

Arthur peeled off his gloves one at a time, pocketing them with care. “Fifty-” his voice cracked for the first time that day, “fifty-two years to the day since you said yes.”

He reached out an aged hand, shaking and spotted with age, and brushed the snow from the granite stone. “Do you remember that day, my dear? How I laid atop you in the snow and just blurted it out?” His voice was quiet, thick with the longing he had for his wife. “You started crying and I was panicking…but then you began to laugh and made me the happiest…”

Arthur couldn’t choke back the sob in time. Slowly, as his shoulders shook with fresh tears, he lowered himself to the frozen ground where his wife rested. It was the fourteenth of February, a day his Molly loved most. It was the first without her by his side in fifty-three long years.

With a shaking hand and a sigh, Arthur dried his eyes with the handkerchief from his pocket. Once he could see once more, he reached out and brushed off the face of the stone.

  
_Molly Prewett Weasley_   
_30.October.1949 - 12.November.2019_   
_Daughter, Sister_   
_Wife, Mother, Grandmother_   
_Beloved by all, Remembered Forever_   


“I’ve brought you your roses,” Arthur said quietly, as he rested the bouquet against the headstone. “I know how much you love them. The girls-the girls plan on coming here in the spring and planting a bush beside you. That way you’ll always have roses with you.”

Arthur knelt there beside his wife, his hand resting upon the stone in the same way he would once put his hand on hers. Valentine’s Day was always a special day for her, her hopelessly romantic heart bursting with joy year after year. Fifty-three special Valentine’s he spent by her side. And this was his first, his first one alone. 

Arthur stayed there a moment more, before patting his hand against the stone. He rose slowly, his knees cracking. “Well Molly, I’m afraid it’s time. Ginny will send Harry out to find me iff I don’t arrive soon…” Arthur sighed and swallowed hard. Leaving her was never easy. “Happy Valentine’s Mollywobbles.” He kissed his fingers and pressed them against the stone. “I love you, my dear.”


End file.
